Spoiler Alert! This article contains spoilers, so if you haven’t already been watching Top Photographer with Nigel Barker on AdoramaTV, tune in now at adoramatv.com to watch the finale episode, starring guest judges Coco Rocha and Joe Zee.
It finally came down to #teamRoxy versus #teamScott, and if you’ve been watching Top Photographer with Nigel Barker (Adorama TV’s first reality web series) you’ll know that it wasn’t an easy decision for any of the judges. Last night, Top Photographer host Nigel Barker welcomed supermodel Coco Rocha and the Editor-in-Chief of Yahoo Style, Joe Zee, as guest judges to weigh in on the competitors’ portfolios. The stakes were high, with a $50,000 prize package from Canon and a potentially career-changing gallery exhibition in New York City hosted by Nigel himself, featuring all of the winner’s work.
Since the first episode, both Scott and Roxy have been charming AdoramaTV audiences with their very different approaches to photography. Viewers fell in love with Roxy, the only woman in the running, early on for her creative spontaneity and disarming personality on set. Meanwhile, fans of Scott got to witness just how much the meticulous planner sweats over (quite literally sometimes – see Episode 1 challenge) every detail that goes into his work before and during a shoot. But it was Scott’s portfolio that ultimately proved to the judges that he truly has what it takes to be Adorama’s First Top Photographer!
“I’m still in shock, I couldn’t be more happy!” exclaimed Scott after his hard-earned win. The decision will surely shock many fans of the show who were so sure of a Roxy victory. The judges held nothing back in their tough critique of her work. Looking at Roxy’s winning landscape challenge photo, which Joe Zee described as a “beautiful mistake,” Coco strongly disagreed saying, “I don’t like the mistake. When I first saw it, I just thought you put some weird filter on top.” Ouch, that hurts, Coco Rocha!
But it wasn’t all gold stars for Scott, either, as he himself faced tough criticism from the supermodel and fashion editor judges. While the judges mostly loved Scott’s final winning photo (shot in New York’s Oculus structure), with Nigel even calling it “brilliant,” the host told the young photographer, “you know what you’re doing, but the question is, will you always deliver?” Nigel was probably referencing that cringe-worthy moment in Episode 1 when Scott practically had a nervous (and very sweaty) breakdown shooting a sports portrait of two-time Olympic fencer Miles Chamley-Watson. Roxy ended up coming out on top for that challenge because, as the judges have said time, and time again, she managed to capture a very unique “moment” with the young athlete. (Didn’t hurt that she asked him to take his shirt off!)
Despite early setbacks, Scott eventually pulled through and delivered, especially in the last challenge. While viewers had gotten used to a cool, calm and collected Roxy who always seemed to be able to find “the moment,” the judges think she missed the mark last night. Joe Zee explained, “I don’t feel like it’s you, and I don’t feel it’s spontaneous at all.”
The critique didn’t seem to put a damper on Roxy’s spirit at all because even after Scott was declared the winner, she told viewers, “At the end of the day, if you don’t get that client, you’ll get another that loves what you do.” (Yup, Roxy rhymes with moxie! )
While it was tough to say goodbye to Roxy, it was touching to see just how emotional Scott was upon winning the competition. The first thing he did was call his mom, of course! Humbled by his win, Scott explained, “I feel so blessed to be here. A hundred percent this has changed my life.”
We all expect to see a lot more great photos from Scott, and are definitely looking forward to his upcoming gallery exhibition hosted by Nigel Barker. As Nigel himself has said, it was a photo exhibition in New York City that he credits for launching his own career, and it is the very reason an exhibition was included in the prize package. A very grateful Scott didn’t sound like he was ready to rest on his laurels, though, telling viewers, “You cannot master the art of photography because it is ever changing and it is growing, just like an artist should be.” Congratulations, Scott, we are looking forward to watching your photography career grow!
Do you agree with the judges’ decision, or are you still #teamRoxy? Let us know in the comments below.
